Men’s Basketball Clipped at Roger Williams, 64-58

BRISTOL, R.I.- The Eastern Nazarene College men's basketball team suffered a 64-58 setback at Roger Williams Saturday afternoon.

The Lions fall to 9-10 on the season and 6-6 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference with the loss. The Hawks improve to 15-4 overall and 9-3 in league play with the victory.

Corey Doran (Fairfield, Calif.) posted his sixth 20-plus point effort of the year, netting 22 points in the game while grabbing five rebounds. Christian Lynch (Alpharetta, Ga.) finished with 14 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and a pair of steals. Anthony Petrilli (Santa Clarita, Calif.) recorded seven points while David Eddings (Endicott, N.Y.) contributed with a team-best eight boards, six assists, and five points.

The two squads traded buckets to start the contest before the visitors grabbed an 11-7 lead with 15:05 remaining in the first half on a layup by Doran.

The home team battled back to tie the game at 16-16 with 11:17 to go as Nick Marini drained a three-pointer.

Roger Williams seized its first lead of the day with 6:19 left to play in the opening frame, 21-19, on a layup by Jaylen Jennings.

Eastern Nazarene pulled even on its next possession with two free throws by Lynch, 21-21.

The Hawks responded with a 10-2 run to establish a 31-23 advantage with 1:14 remaining in the half.

The Lions trimmed the deficit to 31-26 as Eddings connected from beyond the arc with 47 seconds to go in the opening stanza.

Eastern Nazarene shot 34.5% from the floor in the first 20 minutes of action while Roger Williams sported a field-goal percentage of 37.9% at the break.

The guests chalked up the first five points of the second half in less than a minute of action to level the contest at 31-31.

The Hawks stretched their lead to seven with 15:26 remaining on a basket and free throw by Austin Coene, 42-35.

The Lions cut the margin to 46-44 as Doran powered in a layup with 8:49 to go in regulation before Doran converted two free throws to knot the score at 46-46 with 8:20 on the clock.

Roger Williams reclaimed a five-point edge with 3:07 left to play, 57-52, on a free throw by Marini.

After Eastern Nazarene narrowed the gap to 59-56, the home team answered with a three-pointer by Coene to widen its lead to 62-56 with 1:12 remaining.

The Lions pulled to within four with 48 seconds on the clock as Lynch gathered an offensive rebound and banked in a layup, 62-58.

Roger Williams secured the narrow win with a pair of late free throws by Coene with 18 seconds to go.

The Lions finished with a field-goal percentage of 38.6% while connecting on 4-of-13 from the perimeter. The Hawks shot 42.1% from the floor on the day and 22.7% from long distance.

Coene led Roger Williams with 20 points while Andrew Wasik added 13 points and Marini chalked up 12.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene travels to Boston for a tussle at Wentworth January 31.